How Introverts Can Be Exceptional Entrepreneurial Leaders

I had the honor and pleasure of sitting down with Josh Zywien of Open View Labs to talk about how introverts can be exceptional in entrepreneurial leadership roles, an area of importance to Open View as they aim to help entrepreneurs build great companies. This interview originally ran in the Open View Labs blog, and I wanted to share it here with all of you. Enjoy!

~

When it comes to introverts, there’s a common misconception that they lack the necessary qualities to be effective leaders. It’s a perception that leadership strategist and entrepreneur Lisa Petrilli disagrees with and, as a self-described introvert and a highly successful entrepreneur, it’s one she can legitimately disprove.

But being introverted isn’t about being shy or team averse, says Petrilli, who founded executive consulting firm C-Level Strategies in 2010 and authored The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership last year. Instead, it’s simply about drawing energy and creative juices from a different place.

While extroverts are at their best in more populated, bustling surroundings, introverts thrive in smaller group — and, yes, sometimes singular — settings and draw their energy from their inner world. Neither preference is wrong or better than the other, Petrilli explains, and both types of personalities can produce excellent leaders.

Petrilli recently sat down for a brief conversation with OpenView to discuss her experience as a successful introverted CEO, the roadblocks she faced along the way, and why she thinks possessing and communicating vision is the true foundation of great leaders.

As an introvert, did you find the leadership component of being an entrepreneur difficult early in your career?

Absolutely. In a business environment, you can’t escape the outer world that extroverts prefer. You have to exist and interact there if you want to be successful. For an extrovert, it’s an energizing experience to participate in larger groups and lead large teams. An introvert can be very successful in that world, but we don’t like to spend the preponderance of our time there.

Ultimately, leaders at companies of all sizes need to spend time every day getting out of their comfort zone if they want to be successful. I’m not suggesting that introverts have to become extroverts, but it’s important to get out of your office, motivate your team, and talk to the world about your company. If you’re the CEO of a growing company, those situations are unavoidable, and if you don’t embrace them at some point you’ll hit a career ceiling.

The good news, though, is that once you’ve done that, I absolutely think it’s important for introverts to return to their sanctums and explore their inner world of ideas. It’s really about striking a balance between your introverted preferences and the extroverted demands of corporate leadership.

What makes introverts particularly strong leaders in the startup and expansion stage phases?

I think introverts excel at creating and setting a vision for their company or product. Many people assume that the majority of CEOs — because they’re the figureheads of their companies — are extroverts. In my experience, that has not been the case.

Introverts — like a lot of entrepreneurs — tend to be creatively minded people who work well in innovative environments that allow them to dream up fantastic products and features. Early on, those people are great leaders because they’re comfortable communicating that vision to their small teams.

You talk a lot about the concept of “visionary leadership.” How exactly do you define it and how does it differ from other leadership styles?

I’m not sure that visionary leadership is a “style” as much as it is a foundation for great leadership. Ultimately, CEOs at the startup and enterprise levels need to know where they want to take their organizations. Executives may have a tendency to brush aside the idea of vision and turn it into a stock exercise that they execute with their team once a year.

That’s a big mistake. Your vision should be the framework of your business. It gets to the core of what you do, where you want the company to go, and what your market’s going to look like when you get there. Ultimately, a company’s leader needs to illuminate that path. If you look at Steve Jobs, he certainly did that with Apple. Steve Jobs was well known as a visionary and he created, communicated, and stuck with a very specific vision.

In the end, vision is about asking yourself how your business is going to make its customers more successful. When you think about your company as a medium for improving its customers’ lives, it can be hugely inspirational for you and your employees. Without that vision, your business will likely lack the internal fire that truly fuels long-term success.

What one piece of advice would you give early-stage CEOs — particularly introverted ones — about creating and communicating that vision to their teams?

I think the easiest way to summarize everything we’ve discussed is to say that what you bring to the table needs to be uniquely you. Whether we’re talking about leadership styles, personalities, or products, it’s critical to understand your strengths, embrace them, and deliver them in a way that is genuine and impactful.

Everyone assumes that innovation is about creating groundbreaking technology or that leadership is about being this boisterous personality, and neither is necessarily true. Ultimately, innovation and leadership are about being more of who you’re meant to be and less of who you’re not. If you can figure that out and clearly convey your passion, then you’ll empower your employees, investors, and customers to follow you.

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

About 212inc

212, Inc. is a premier outsourced sales and marketing firm in the greater Boston area. As a privately owned and operated firm, 212 is dedicated to providing opportunity to Fortune 50 clients as well as every associate.
Here at 212 we believe promoting from within is the key to successful expansion and growth for years to come. We offer our associates an exclusive opportunity at hands on training to develop the skills to be successful in the direct marketing industry as well as team management and leadership.

Flickr Photos

I want to take the time to personally thank and congratulate everyone on our BEST WEEK EVER!Last week our organization produced over 100k in revenue! What does that mean???1. We were able to reach over 10,000 customers2. We secured over 900 customers for new services for our clients3. Our closing ratio is at nearly 10% (versus the average 1% which is common […]

http://www.prlog.org/12006761-212-inc-participates-in-charity-event-to-raise-money-for-operation-smile.html12 Inc., a sales and marketing firm in the Boston area, will be participating in a charity event for Operation Smile. The company will be attending a holiday party in Boston’s financial district to raise money for the charity. 212, Inc. is a premier out […]

We are excited to be adding new members to our management team and, with the added leadership, we are expanding to more locations. We would like to give some recognition to the team members that have worked hard for their promotions. Congratulations Oliniyi on your promotion to Assistant Manager!Great Job Okletey on taking on the expansion of a new locati […]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/10/01/6-ways-successful-teams-are-built-to-last/ Glenn Llopis, Contributor It takes great leadership to build great teams. Leaders who are not afraid to course correct, make the difficult decisions and establish standards of performance that are constantly being met – and improving at all times. Whether in th […]

http://www.i4u.com/2012/10/boston-ma/smile-operation-212-money-tournament-raises-dodgeball-inc-charity212 Inc., a sales and marketing firm based out of Wellesley, MA, traveled to Miami for a national client hosted conference. The weekend is an annual event geared around rewarding the country’s client vendors. In addition to dinners, a talent show, free jet s […]

212 Inc., a Massachusetts based sales and marketing firm, traveled to Miami and participated in a charity event for Operation Smile. 212 Inc., a sales and marketing firm based out of Wellesley, MA, traveled to Miami for a national client hosted conference. The weekend is an annual event geared around rewarding the country’s client vendors. In addition to d […]

http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-to-find-your-strengths-to-be-an-exceptional-leader-2012-9Samantha CortezIn order to become better leaders, people typically focus on improving their weaknesses. But now, research is showing that developing your strengths is actually more effective.John Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, Robert Sherwin, Jr., and Barbara Steel—aut […]

Executives of 212 Inc. will be traveling to Miami Beach for an annual national conference and a bit of fun on the beach.The weekend will be hosted at the Miami Eden Roc hotel and will include some brief meetings, a chance to relax on the beach, networking opportunities with several business professionals from all across the country, and two charity tournamen […]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/09/10/10-leadership-lessons-from-jeff-weiner-ceo-of-linkedin/2/ Jeanne Meister, ContributorI had the pleasure of attending the first video pilot interview of LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner by Adam Bryant, New York Times Senior Editor for Features. As a user of LinkedIn and loyal reader of Adam’s Corner Office columns […]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonselk/2012/08/24/5-things-business-leaders-can-learn-from-tiger/After falling off the performance roadmap for a few years, Tiger Woods has recently re-established himself as one of the top players in the world. Not only is Tiger positioned to make history and become known as the greatest golfer of all time, but it also appear […]

http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/well-being/learn-the-skills-of-a-horse-whisperer-for-leadership-successTauseef Qadri first started exploring the idea of "equitelligence", or equine-inspired emotional intelligence, while studying management sciences at Loughborough University in the UK. Admittedly, Qadri was not your average management student. […]

http://www.dailymirror.lk/business/features/21327-leadership-lessons-from-olympics.htmlBy Dinesh WeerakkodyWith a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games to a close. However, it was some of the great athletes at those games more than the pomp and the pop that really made a lasting impression o […]

Congratulations to Rachelle and Kyle for being awarded with a trip to San Francisco for a leadership conference this month. You have done a great job and we are excited to send you to the West Coast for additional career training. Can't wait to see what you bring back. Have fun and great job!Congratulations Rachelle on your newest promotion. We are exci […]

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-212-inc-celebrates-over-five-years-of-success-1344917677.html 212, Inc., a New England based sales and marketing firm, is celebrating five years of successful business. Over the years the company has expanded to over five times its founding size and expects to continue its growth in the months and years to come.212, In […]

Expert Interviews By Lisa Petrillihttp://www.business2community.com/expert-interviews/how-introverts-can-be-exceptional-entrepreneurial-leaders-0242367I had the honor and pleasure of sitting down with Josh Zywien of Open View Labs to talk about how introverts can be exceptional in entrepreneurial leadership roles, an area of importance to Open View as they a […]

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224141Are you more like Howard Schultz of Starbucks, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Richard Branson of Virgin, or Tony Hsieh of Zappos? Knowing the answer could help you become more successful in running your business.Three business leaders -- Tony Tjan, Dick Harrington, and Tsun-yan Hsieh -- wrote a book together c […]